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94-686: Burma Army may refer to: Myanmar Army , the current armed forces of Burma (Myanmar), also its predecessors: Royal Burmese armed forces , army of Burma under native dynasties until 1885 British Burma Army (1 Apr. 1937 – 7 Sept. 1945), army created when Burma was separated from the British Raj (India) Burma Independence Army (28 Dec. 1941 – 24 July 1942), army created by Japan to assist in its conquest of Burma Burma Defence Army (26 Aug. 1942 – 1 Aug. 1943), re-organized Burma Independence Army Burma National Army (1 Aug. 1943 – 7 Sept. 1945), army of
188-532: A Colonel ( Bo hmu gyi ), is made up of three or more combat battalions, with command and support elements similar to that of brigades in Western armies. One infantry battalion is held in reserve. As of 2000, all LIDs have their own organic Field Artillery units. For example, 314th Field Artillery Battery is now attached to 44th LID. Some of the LID battalions have been given Parachute and Air Borne Operations training and two of
282-622: A Japanese general and made an alliance with Japanese Army. In the early 1940s, Aung San and other 29 participants secretly went for the military training under Japanese Army and these 30 people are later known as the " 30 Comrades " in Myanmar history and can be regarded as the origin of the modern Myanmar Army. When the Japanese invasion of Burma was ready, the 30 Soldiers recruited Myanmar people in Thailand and founded Burmese Independence Army (BIA), which
376-613: A brigadier general, are similar to infantry brigades in Western Armies. Each consists of 4 Infantry battalions (Chay Hlyin Tatyin), HQ and organic support units. Commander of ROC is a position between LID/MOC commander and tactical Operation Command (TOC) commander, who commands three infantry battalions. The ROC commander holds financial, administrative and judicial authority while the MOC and LID commanders do not have judicial authority. ROC (Laukkai)
470-1020: A dramatic expansion of the Tatmadaw as it established 11 Military Operations Commands (MOC)s in that month. MOC are similar to mechanised infantry divisions in Western armies, each with 10 regular infantry battalions ( Chay Hlyin Tatyin ), a headquarters, and organic support units including field artillery . In 1996, two new RMC were opened, Coastal Region RMC was opened in Myeik with Brigadier Sit Maung as commander and Triangle Region RMC in Kengtung with Brigadier Thein Sein as commander. Three new ROCs were created in Kalay , Bhamo and Mongsat . In late 1998, two new MOCs were created in Bokepyin and Mongsat. The most significant expansion after
564-701: A framework of Bureau of Special Operations (BSOs), which are equivalent to field army group in Western terms. . ( မြောက်ပိုင်းတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( အရှေ့မြောက်ပိုင်းတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( အရှေ့ပိုင်းတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( အရှေ့တောင်တိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( တောင်ပိုင်းတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( အနောက်ပိုင်းတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( အနောက်တောင်တိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( အနောက်မြောက်တိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( ရန်ကုန်တိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( ကမ်းရိုးတန်းတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( တြိဂံတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( အလယ်ပိုင်းတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( နေပြည်တော်တိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) ( အရှေ့အလယ်ပိုင်းတိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) Regional Operations Commands (ROC) ( ဒေသကွပ်ကဲမှု စစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) are commanded by
658-628: A momentous event stunned the nation on 19 July 1947. U Saw, a conservative pre-war prime minister of Burma, engineered the assassination of Aung San and several members of his cabinet including his eldest brother Ba Win , the father of today's National League for Democracy exile-government leader Dr Sein Win , while meeting in the Secretariat. Since then, 19 July has been commemorated as Martyrs' Day in Burma. Thakin Nu ,
752-557: A new period of economic growth. The economic nature of society also changed dramatically. The British began exploiting the rich soil of the land around the Irrawaddy delta and cleared away the dense mangrove forests. Rice, which was in high demand in Europe, especially after the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, was the main export. To increase the production of rice, many Burmese migrated from
846-541: A scathing attack on one of the senior university officials. It spread to Mandalay leading to the formation of the All Burma Students Union. Aung San and Nu subsequently joined the Thakin movement progressing from student to national politics. The British separated Burma Province from British India on 1 April 1937 and granted the colony a new constitution calling for a fully elected assembly, with many powers given to
940-601: A tightly centralised form of government. The king was the chief executive with the final say on all matters, but he could not make new laws and could only issue administrative edicts. The country had two codes of law, the Dhammathat and the Hluttaw , the centre of government, was divided into three branches—fiscal, executive, and judicial. In theory, the king was in charge of all of the Hluttaw, but none of his orders got put into place until
1034-492: A total of 15 rifle battalions at the time of independence and four of them were made up of former members of PBF. All influential positions within the War Office and commands were manned with non-former PBF Officers. All services including military engineers, supply and transport, ordnance and medical services, Navy and Air Force were all commanded by former officers from ABRO and British Burma Army. The army has always been by far
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#17328490866201128-610: A transition from military government to civilian parliamentary government, the Myanmar Army imposed a military draft on all citizens: all males from age 18 to 35 and all females from 18 to 27 years of age can be drafted into military service for two years as enlisted personnel in time of national emergency. The ages for professionals are up to 45 for men and 35 for women for three years service as commissioned and non-commissioned officers. The Government Gazette reported that 1.8 trillion kyat (about US$ 2 billion), or 23.6 percent of
1222-618: A unified Burma at the Panglong Conference on 12 February, celebrated since as 'Union Day'. Shortly after, rebellion broke out in the Arakan led by the veteran monk U Seinda, and it began to spread to other districts. The popularity of the AFPFL, dominated by Aung San and the socialists, was eventually confirmed when it won an overwhelming victory in the April 1947 constituent assembly elections. Then
1316-525: Is a formidable conventional defence force for the Union of Myanmar. Troops ready for combat duty have at least doubled since 1988. Logistics infrastructure and artillery fire support have been greatly increased. Its newly acquired military might was apparent in the Tatmadaw's dry season operations against Karen National Union (KNU) strongholds in Manerplaw and Kawmoora . Most of the casualties at these battles were
1410-864: Is commanded by a lieutenant colonel Du Ti Ya Bo Hmu Gyi or Du Bo Hmu Gyi with a major ( Bo Hmu ) as second in command. In 1966 structure, ကဖ/၇၀(၈)/၆၆ , a battalion has an authorised strength of 27 Officers and 750 Other Ranks, totaling at 777. Light infantry battalions in the Myanmar Army have much lower establishment strength of around 500; this often leads to these units being mistakenly identified by observers as under-strength infantry battalions. Both Infantry Battalions and Light Infantry Battalions were reorganised as 857 men units, 31 Officers and 826 Other Ranks, in 2001 under structure of ကဖ / ၇၀ - ဆ / ၂၀၀၁. However, currently, most battalions are badly undermanned and have less than 150 men in general. With its significantly increased personnel numbers, weaponry, and mobility, today's Tatmadaw Kyi ( တပ်မတော်(ကြည်း) )
1504-572: Is currently within Operation Aung Zeya. Missile, artillery and armoured units were not used in an independent role, but were deployed in support of the infantry by the Ministry of Defence as required. The Directorate of Artillery and Armour Corps was also divided into separate corps in 2001. The Directorate of Artillery and Missile Corps was also divided into separate corps in 2009. A dramatic expansion of forces under these directorates followed with
1598-523: Is generally rated as one of the toughest, most combat seasoned in Southeast Asia". In 1985, a foreign journalist with the rare experience of seeing Burmese soldiers in action against ethnic insurgents and narco-armies was "thoroughly impressed by their fighting skills, endurance and discipline". Other observers during that period characterised the Myanmar Army as "the toughest, most effective light infantry jungle force now operating in Southeast Asia". Even
1692-558: Is now in a much better position to deter external aggression and respond to such a threat should it ever arise, although child soldiers may not perform very well in combating with enemies. The first army division to be formed after the 1988 military coup was the No. (11) Light Infantry Division (LID) in December 1988 with Colonel Win Myint as commander. In March 1990, a new regional military command
1786-721: Is the largest branch of the Tatmadaw , the armed forces of Myanmar , and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southeast Asia after the People's Army of Vietnam . It has clashed against ethnic and political insurgents since its inception in 1948. The force is headed by the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Army , currently Vice-Senior General Soe Win , concurrently Deputy Commander-in-Chief of
1880-608: Is to establish an organic Artillery Operations Command in each of the 12 Regional Military Command Headquarters. Each Artillery Operation Command is composed of the following: British rule in Burma British colonial rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the successive three Anglo-Burmese wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence. The region under British control
1974-633: The Anglo-Burmese who would come to dominate the colonial society, hovering above the Burmese but below the British. After Britain took over all of Burma, they continued to send tribute to China to avoid offending them, but this unknowingly lowered the status they held in Chinese minds. It was agreed at the Burma convention in 1886 that China would recognise Britain's occupation of Upper Burma while Britain continued
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#17328490866202068-612: The First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26). The British dispatched a large seaborne expedition that took Rangoon without a fight in 1824. In Danuphyu , at the Ayeyarwadddy Delta, Burmese General Maha Bandula was killed and his armies routed. Burma was forced to cede Assam and other northern provinces. The 1826 Treaty of Yandabo formally ended the First Anglo-Burmese War, the longest and the most expensive war in
2162-650: The General Staff Office on 28 April 1978 and 1 June 1979. In early 1978, the Chairman of BSPP , General Ne Win , visited the Northeastern Command Headquarters in Lashio to receive a briefing about Burmese Communist Party (BCP) insurgents and their military operations . He was accompanied by Brigadier General Tun Ye from the Ministry of Defence. Brigadier General Tun Ye was the regional commander of
2256-463: The Irrawaddy River ) throughout the regions where the majority of Burmese lived, bringing Indian cultural influences into the country that still exist there today. As Burma had been one of the first Southeast Asian countries to adopt Buddhism on a large scale, it continued under the British as the officially patronised religion of most of the population. The ruling Konbaung dynasty practised
2350-485: The Japanese occupation of much of the country during World War II . Burma achieved independence from British rule on 4 January 1948. Burma is sometimes referred to as "the Scottish Colony" owing to the outsized role played by Scotsmen in colonising and running the country, one of the most notable being Sir James Scott . It was also known for the important role played by Indian elites in managing and administering
2444-712: The Patriotic Burmese Forces (PBF). In accordance with the agreement reached at Kandy Conference in September 1945, the Tatmadaw was reorganised by incorporating the British Burma Army and the Patriotic Burmese Forces. The officer corps shared by ex-PBF officers and officers from British Burma Army and Army of Burma Reserve Organisation (ARBO). The colonial government also decided to form what were known as "Class Battalions" based on ethnicity. There were
2538-449: The Thai people , not known to praise the Burmese lightly, have described the Myanmar Army as "skilled in the art of jungle warfare ". The Myanmar Army had reached some 370,000 active troops of all ranks in 2000. There were 337 infantry battalions , including 266 light infantry battalions as of 2000. Although the Myanmar Army's organisational structure was based upon the regimental system ,
2632-626: The Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, Upper Burma was annexed, and the following year, the province of Burma in British India was created, becoming a major province (a lieutenant-governorship) in 1897. This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma began to be administered separately by the Burma Office under the Secretary of State for India and Burma . British rule was disrupted during
2726-461: The teak forests in Lower Burma as well as a port between Calcutta and Singapore . After 25 years of peace, British and Burmese fighting started afresh and continued until the British occupied all of Lower Burma. The British were victorious in this war and as a result obtained access to the teak, oil, and rubies of their newly conquered territories. In Upper Burma, the still unoccupied part of
2820-474: The 2011 budget was for military expenditures. In the late 1930s, during the period of British rule , a few Myanmar organizations or parties formed an alliance named Burma's Htwet Yet (Liberation) Group, one of them being Dobama Asiayone . Since most of the members were Communist, they wanted help from Chinese Communists; but when Thakhin Aung San and a partner secretly went to China for help, they only met with
2914-596: The British Indian Army for treason and collaboration with the Japanese. Lord Mountbatten realised that a trial was an impossibility considering Aung San's popular appeal. After the war ended, the British governor, Colonel Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith , returned. The restored government established a political programme that focused on the physical reconstruction of the country and delayed discussion of independence. The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) opposed
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3008-479: The British provided loans for slaves to buy their freedom; that all slave trade had been banned, and that slavery in Upper Burma was expected to be effectively phased out by 1926. The province of Burma after 1885 was administered as follows: The " Frontier Areas ", also known as the "Excluded Areas" or the " Scheduled Areas ", compose the majority of states within Burma today. They were administered separately by
3102-620: The British with a Burma Frontier Service and later united with Burma proper to form Myanmar's geographic composition today. The Frontier Areas were inhabited by ethnic minorities such as the Chin , the Shan , the Kachin and the Karenni . By 1931, Burma had 8 divisions, split into a number of districts. The traditional Burmese economy was one of redistribution with the prices of the most important commodities set by
3196-585: The Burmese calendar year), and 20 December, the day the first martyr Aung Kyaw fell, commemorated by students as ' Bo Aung Kyaw Day '. The Empire of Japan invaded Burma in December 1941 and by the end of 1942 controlled much of the colony. In 1943 the State of Burma was proclaimed in Rangoon, with the government run as a puppet state under Japanese control, led by head of state Ba Maw who escaped from prison in April 1942. Japan never succeeded in fully conquering all of
3290-559: The Burmese language – rather like the Indian 'sahib' – proclaiming that they were the true masters of the country entitled to the term usurped by the colonial masters). The second university student strike in 1936 was triggered by the expulsion of Aung San and Ko Nu , leaders of the Rangoon University Students Union, for refusing to reveal the name of the author who had written an article in their university magazine, making
3384-458: The Burmese payment of tribute every ten years to Peking. The British controlled their new province through direct rule in the Burmese heartland, making many changes to the previous governmental structure. For example, Burmans lived under a British-style legal code and were governed by a British-style civil service. Areas outside the central plains were governed indirectly through their traditional structures. In this way, ethnic differences between
3478-421: The Burmese, but this proved to be a divisive issue as some Burmese felt that this was a ploy to exclude them from any further Indian reforms. Ba Maw served as the first prime minister of Burma, but he was forced out by U Saw in 1939, who served as prime minister from 1940 until he was arrested on 19 January 1942 by the British for communicating with the Japanese. A wave of strikes and protests that started from
3572-583: The Defence Services , with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services . The highest rank in the Myanmar Army is Senior General , equivalent to field marshal in Western armies and is currently held by Min Aung Hlaing after being promoted from Vice-Senior General . With Major General Zaw Min Tun serving as the official spokesperson for the Myanmar Army. In 2011, following
3666-569: The Eastern Command for three years and before that he served in Northeastern Command areas as commander of Strategic Operation Command (SOC) and commander of Light Infantry Divisions for four years. As BCP military operations were spread across three Regional Military Command (RMC) areas (Northern, Eastern, and Northeastern), Brigadier General Tun Ye was the most informed commander about the BCP in
3760-582: The High Court of Justice to continue to function. Though war officially ended after only a couple of weeks, resistance to colonial conquest continued in northern Burma until 1890, with the British choosing to systematically destroy villages and appoint new officials to quash the liberation movement. Traditional Burmese society was drastically altered by the demise of the monarchy and the separation of religion and state. Intermarriage between Europeans and Burmese gave birth to an indigenous Eurasian community known as
3854-504: The Hluttaw approved them, thus checking his power. Further dividing the country, provinces were ruled by governors, who were appointed by the Hluttaw, and villages were ruled by hereditary headmen approved by the king. Conflict began between Burma and the British when the Konbaung dynasty decided to expand into Arakan in the state of Assam , close to British-held Chittagong in India. This led to
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3948-632: The Japanese-sponsored State of Burma, which later turned on the Japanese (27 Mar. 1945) Patriotic Burmese Forces , Allied name (after 23 June 1945) for the Burma National Army after it turned on the Japanese Japanese Burma Area Army (27 Mar. 1943 – 15 Aug. 1945), a Japanese force during World War II Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
4042-534: The LIDs have been converted to mechanised infantry formation with divisional artillery, armoured reconnaissance and tank battalions LIDs are considered to be a strategic asset of the Myanmar Army, and after the 1990 reorganisation and restructuring of the Tatmadaw command structure, they are now directly answerable to Chief of Staff (Army). Involved in the Kachin conflict Division Commander Brigadier General Min Min Htun
4136-412: The Myanmar order of battle . For a better command and communication, the Tatmadaw formed a Regional Military Commands ( တိုင်း စစ်ဌာနချုပ် ) structure in 1958. Until 1961, there were only two regional commands, they were supported by 13 infantry brigades and an infantry division. In October 1961, new regional military commands were opened and leaving only two independent infantry brigades. In June 1963,
4230-417: The Myanmar Army at the time. At the briefing, General Ne Win was impressed by Brigadier General Tun Ye and realised that co-ordination among various Regional Military Commands (RMC) was necessary; thus, decided to form a bureau at the Ministry of Defence. Originally, the bureau was for "special operations", wherever they were, that needed co-ordination among various Regional Military Commands (RMC). Later, with
4324-565: The Myanmar Army entered into its third phase, as the Patriotic Burmese Force (PBF), and the country became under British rule again. Afterwards, the structure of the army fell under British authority; hence, for those who were willing to serve the nation but not in that army, General Aung San organized the People's Comrades Force. At the time of Myanmar's independence in 1948, the Tatmadaw was weak, small and disunited. Cracks appeared along
4418-526: The Myanmar Army in 1966 as rapid reaction mobile forces for strike operations. No. (77) Light Infantry Division was formed on 6 June 1966, followed by No. (88) Light Infantry Division and No. (99) Light Infantry Division in the two following years. No. (77) LID was largely responsible for the defeat of the Communist forces of the CPB ( Communist Party of Burma ) based in the forested hills of the central Bago Mountains in
4512-404: The Myanmar Army order of battle as both command 10 infantry battalions through three TOC's (Tactical Operations Commands). However, unlike Light Infantry Divisions, MOC are subordinate to their respective Regional Military Command (RMC) Headquarters. Members of MOC does not wear distinguished arm insignias and instead uses their respective RMC's arm insignias. For example, MOC-20 in Kawthaung wore
4606-553: The Naypyidaw Command was temporarily formed in Yangon with the deputy commander and some staff officers drawn from Central Command. It was reorganised and renamed as Yangon Command on 1 June 1965. A total of 337 infantry and light infantry battalions organised in Tactical Operations Commands, 37 independent field artillery regiments supported by affiliated support units including armoured reconnaissance and tank battalions. RMCs are similar to corps formations in Western armies. The RMCs, commanded by major general, are managed through
4700-480: The Socialist leader, was now asked to form a new cabinet, and he presided over Burmese independence instituted under the Burma Independence Act 1947 on 4 January 1948. Burma chose to become a fully independent republic, and not a British Dominion upon independence. This was in contrast to the independence of India and Pakistan which both resulted in the attainment of dominion status. This may have been on account of anti-British popular sentiment being strong in Burma at
4794-500: The arm insignia of Coastal Region Military Command. No. (15) MOC and No. (9) MOC has been captured by AA. No. (16) MOC has been captured by MNDAA. Light Infantry Division ( ခြေမြန်တပ်မ or တမခ ), commanded by a brigadier general, each with 10 Light Infantry Battalions organised under 3 Tactical Operations Commands, commanded by a Colonel ( 3 battalions each and 1 reserve ), 1 Field Artillery Battalion, 1 Armour Squadron and other support units. These divisions were first introduced to
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#17328490866204888-434: The basic manoeuvre and fighting unit is the battalion , known as Tat Yinn ( တပ်ရင်း ) in Burmese. This is composed of a headquarters company and four rifle companies Tat Khwe ( တပ်ခွဲ ) with three rifle platoons Tat Su ( တပ်စု ) each; headquarters company has medical, transport, logistics, and signals units; a heavy weapons company including mortar , machine gun , and recoilless gun platoons. Each battalion
4982-403: The colony, especially while it was still a part of the British Raj; some historians have called this a case of co-colonialism. Because of its location, trade routes between China and India passed through the country, keeping Burma wealthy through trade, although self-sufficient agriculture was still the basis of the economy. Indian merchants travelled along the coasts and rivers (especially
5076-428: The colony, however, and insurgent activity was pervasive, though not as much of an issue as it was in other former colonies. By 1945, British-led troops, mainly from the British Indian Army , had regained control over most of the colony with Rangoon being recaptured in May 1945. The surrender of the Japanese brought a military administration to Burma. The British administration sought to try Aung San and other members of
5170-413: The country, King Mindon had tried to adjust to the thrust of imperialism. He enacted administrative reforms and made Burma more receptive to foreign interests. But the British initiated the Third Anglo-Burmese War , which lasted less than two weeks during November 1885. The British government justified their actions by claiming that the last independent king of Burma, Thibaw Min , was a tyrant and that he
5264-437: The country, began negotiations for Burmese independence, which were concluded successfully in London as the Aung San- Attlee Agreement on 27 January 1947. The agreement left parts of the communist and conservative branches of the AFPFL dissatisfied, sending the Red Flag Communists led by Thakin Soe underground and the conservatives into opposition. Aung San also succeeded in concluding an agreement with ethnic minorities for
5358-421: The early twentieth century from amongst the educated classes, some of whom were permitted to go to London to study law. They returned with the belief that the Burmese situation could be improved through reform. Progressive constitutional reform in the early 1920s led to a legislature with limited powers, a university and more autonomy for Burma within the administration of India. Efforts were undertaken to increase
5452-457: The equipment procured from China, Russia, Ukraine and India . No. 1 Artillery Battalion was formed in 1952 with three artillery batteries under the Directorate of Artillery Corps. A further three artillery battalions were formed in the late 1952. This formation remained unchanged until 1988. Since 2000, the Directorate of Artillery Corps has overseen the expansion of Artillery Operations Commands(AOC) from two to 10. Tatmadaw 's stated intention
5546-437: The first armoured division of the Tatmadaw as the 71st Armoured Operations Command with its headquarters in Pyawbwe . The Bureau of Special Operations ( ကာကွယ်ရေးဌာန စစ်ဆင်ရေး အထူးအဖွဲ့ ) in the Myanmar Army are high-level field units equivalent to field armies in Western terms and consist of two or more regional military commands (RMC) commanded by a lieutenant general and six staff officers. The units were introduced under
5640-399: The first martyr of the movement to die after a protracted hunger strike in prison. In December 1930, a local tax protest by Saya San in Tharrawaddy quickly grew into first a regional and then a national insurrection against the government. Lasting for two years, the Galon Rebellion , named after the mythical bird Garuda – enemy of the Nagas i.e. the British – emblazoned on the pennants
5734-550: The form of the Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA), modelled after the YMCA , as religious associations were allowed by the colonial authorities. They were later superseded by the General Council of Burmese Associations (GCBA) which was linked with Wunthanu athin or National Associations that sprang up in villages throughout Burma Proper. Between 1900 and 1911 the "Irish Buddhist" U Dhammaloka publicly challenged Christianity and imperial power, leading to two trials for sedition . A new generation of Burmese leaders arose in
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#17328490866205828-400: The government leading to political instability in the country. A rift had also developed in the AFPFL between the communists and Aung San together with the socialists over strategy, which led to Than Tun being forced to resign as general secretary in July 1946 and the expulsion of the CPB from the AFPFL the following October. Dorman-Smith was replaced by Major-General Sir Hubert Rance as
5922-421: The history of British India . Fifteen thousand European and Indian soldiers died, together with an unknown number of Burmese army and civilian casualties. The campaign cost the British between 5 and 13 million pounds sterling (between 18 and 48 billion in 2020 U.S. dollars ) which led to an economic crisis in British India in 1833. In 1852, the Second Anglo-Burmese War was provoked by the British, who sought
6016-591: The infantry in the army was in armour and artillery. Beginning in 1990, the Tatmadaw procured 18 T-69II main battle tanks and 48 T-63 amphibious light tanks from China. Further procurements were made, including several hundred Type 85 and Type 92 armoured personnel carriers (APC). By the beginning of 1998, the Tatmadaw had about 100 T-69II main battle tanks, a similar number of T-63 amphibious light tanks, and several T-59D tanks. These tanks and armoured personnel carriers were distributed throughout five armoured infantry battalions and five tank battalions and formed
6110-416: The introduction of another bureau, there was a division of command areas. The BSO-1 was to oversee the operations under the Northern Command, Northeastern Command, the Eastern Command, and the Northwestern Command. BSO-2 was to oversee operations under the Southeastern Command, Southwestern Command, Western Command and Central Command. Initially, the chief of the BSO had the rank of brigadier general. The rank
6204-463: The largest service in Myanmar and has always received the lion's share of the defence budget. It has played the most prominent part in Myanmar's struggle against the 40 or more insurgent groups since 1948 and acquired a reputation as a tough and resourceful military force. In 1981, it was described as 'probably the best army in Southeast Asia, apart from Vietnam's'. The judgement was echoed in 1983, when another observer noted that "Myanmar's infantry
6298-443: The lines of ethnic background, political affiliation, organisational origin and different services. Its unity and operational efficiency was further weakened by the interference of civilians and politicians in military affairs, and the perception gap between the staff officers and field commanders. The most serious problem was the tension between ethnic Karen Officers, coming from the British Burma Army and Bamar officers, coming from
6392-403: The majority Burmans of the central plain and the ethnic minorities in the hills were exacerbated. This was part of the British colonial practice of "divide and rule". The monarchy was abolished, King Thibaw sent into exile, and religion and state separated. This was particularly harmful, because the Buddhist monks, collectively known as the Sangha , were strongly dependent on the sponsorship of
6486-463: The mid-1970s. Three more LIDs were raised in the latter half of the 1970s (the No. (66), No. (44) and No. (55)) with their headquarters at Pyay , Aungban and Thaton . They were followed by another two LIDs in the period prior to the 1988 military coup (the No. (33) LID with headquarters at Sagaing and the No. (22) LID with headquarters at Hpa-An ). No. (11) LID was formed in December 1988 with headquarters at Inndine, Bago Division and No. (101) LID
6580-562: The monarchy. At the same time, the monarchy was given legitimacy by the Sangha, and monks as representatives of Buddhism gave the public the opportunity to understand national politics to a greater degree. The British also implemented a secular education system. The colonial Government of India , which was given control of the new colony, founded secular schools, teaching in both English and Burmese , while also encouraging Christian missionaries to visit and found schools. In both of these types of schools, Buddhism and traditional Burmese culture
6674-411: The new governor, and the Rangoon police went on strike. The strike, starting in September 1946, then spread from the police to government employees and came close to becoming a general strike. Rance calmed the situation by meeting with Aung San and convincing him to join the governor's Executive Council along with other members of the AFPFL. The new executive council, which now had increased credibility in
6768-416: The northern heartland to the delta, shifting the population concentration and changing the basis of wealth and power. To prepare the new land for cultivation, farmers borrowed money from Indian Tamil moneylenders called Chettiars at high interest rates, as British banks would not grant mortgages . The Indian moneylenders offered mortgage loans but foreclosed on them quickly if the borrowers defaulted. At
6862-504: The oilfields of central Burma in 1938 became a general strike with far-reaching consequences. In Rangoon student protesters, after successfully picketing the Secretariat, the seat of the colonial government, were charged by the British mounted police wielding batons and killing a Rangoon University student. In Mandalay, the police shot into a crowd of protesters led by Buddhist monks killing 17 people. The movement became known as Htaung thoun ya byei ayeidawbon (the '1300 Revolution' named after
6956-405: The progressive impoverishment of the agriculturist and of the country as a whole…. The peasant had grown factually poorer and unemployment had increased….The collapse of the Burmese social system led to a decay of the social conscience which, in the circumstances of poverty and unemployment caused a great increase in crime.” By the turn of the century, a nationalist movement began to take shape in
7050-412: The rapidly growing economy. The civil service was largely staffed by Anglo-Burmese and Indians, and the ethnic Burmese were excluded almost entirely from military service, which was staffed primarily with Indians, Anglo-Burmese, Karens and other Burmese minority groups. A British General Hospital Burmah was set up in Rangoon in 1887. Though the country prospered, the Burmese people largely failed to reap
7144-520: The rebels carried, required thousands of British troops to suppress along with promises of further political reform. The eventual trial of Saya San, who was executed, allowed several future national leaders, including Dr Ba Maw and U Saw , who participated in his defence, to rise to prominence. In May 1930, the Dobama Asiayone (We Burmans Association) was founded, whose members called themselves thakin (an ironic name as thakin means "master" in
7238-429: The representation of Burmese in the civil service. Some people began to feel that the rate of change was not fast enough and the reforms not extensive enough. In 1920, a student strike broke out in protest against the new University Act which the students believed would only benefit the elite and perpetuate colonial rule. 'National Schools' sprang up across the country in protest against the colonial education system, and
7332-547: The result of intense and heavy bombardment by the Myanmar Army. The Myanmar Army is now much larger than it was before 1988, it is more mobile and has greatly improved armour, artillery, and air defence inventories. Its C3I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence) systems have been expanded and refined. It is developing larger and more integrated, self-sustained formations to improve coordinated action by different combat arms. The army may still have relatively modest weaponry compared to its larger neighbours, but it
7426-407: The rewards. (See George Orwell 's novel Burmese Days for a fictional account of the British in Burma.) An account by a British official describing the conditions of the Burmese people's livelihoods in 1941 describes the Burmese hardships: “Foreign landlordism and the operations of foreign moneylenders had led to increasing exportation of a considerable proportion of the country’s resources and to
7520-505: The same time, thousands of Indian labourers migrated to Burma ( Burmese Indians ) and, because of their willingness to work for less money, quickly displaced Burmese farmers. As the Encyclopædia Britannica states: "Burmese villagers, unemployed and lost in a disintegrating society, sometimes took to petty theft and robbery and were soon characterized by the British as lazy and undisciplined. The level of dysfunction in Burmese society
7614-446: The state. For the majority of the population, trade was not as important as self-sufficient agriculture, but the country's position on major trade routes from India to China meant that it did gain a significant amount of money from facilitating foreign trade. With the arrival of the British, the Burmese economy became tied to global market forces and was forced to become a part of the colonial export economy. Burma's annexation ushered in
7708-452: The strike came to be commemorated as ' National Day '. There were further strikes and anti-tax protests in the later 1920s led by the Wunthanu athin s. Prominent among the political activists were Buddhist monks ( hpongyi ), such as U Ottama and U Seinda in the Arakan who subsequently led an armed rebellion against the British and later the nationalist government after independence, and U Wisara,
7802-545: The title Burma Army . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burma_Army&oldid=901131264 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Myanmar Army The Myanmar Army ( Burmese : တပ်မတော်(ကြည်း) ; pronounced [taʔmədɔ̀ tɕí] )
7896-653: Was captured by MNDAA on Jan 5, 2024. Military Operations Commands (MOC) ( စစ်ဆင်ရေးကွပ်ကဲမှုဌာနချုပ် ), commanded by a brigadier-general are similar to Infantry Divisions in Western Armies. Each consists of 10 Mechanised Infantry battalions equipped with BTR-3 armoured personnel carriers, Headquarters and support units including field artillery batteries. These ten battalions are organised into three Tactical Operations Commands: one Mechanised Tactical Operations Command with BTR-3 armoured personnel carriers, and two Motorised Tactical Operations Command with EQ-2102 6x6 trucks. MOC are equivalent to Light Infantry Divisions (LID) in
7990-526: Was captured by TNLA No. (11) Light Infantry Division: The Division GOC Brigadier General Min Min Htun was killed on Feb 7, 2024, during skirmishes at Mrauk U. All 10 battalions/regiments under its command suffered heavy casualties and are no longer combat effective. The division has neither been reinforced nor rebuilt. It has withdrawn from action. No. (22) Light Infantry Division: The division, similar to No. (11), suffered heavy casualties in 2022. It withdrew from combat later and mostly operates as reserve. It
8084-417: Was conspiring to give France more influence in the country. British troops entered Mandalay on 28 November 1885. Thus, after three wars gaining various parts of the country, the British occupied all the area of present-day Myanmar, making the territory a province of British India on 1 January 1886. Burmese armed resistance continued sporadically for several years , and the British commander had to coerce
8178-581: Was created in Monywa with Brigadier Kyaw Min as commander and named the North-Western Regional Military Command. A year later, 101st LID was formed in Pakokku with Colonel Saw Tun as commander. Two Regional Operations Commands (ROC) were formed in Myeik and Loikaw to improve command and control. They were commanded respectively by Brigadier Soe Tint and Brigadier Maung Kyi. March 1995 saw
8272-443: Was formed in 1991 with its headquarters at Pakokku . Each LID, commanded by Brigadier General ( Bo hmu gyoke ) level officers, consists of 10 light infantry battalions specially trained in counter-insurgency , jungle warfare , "search and destroy" operations against ethnic insurgents and narcotics-based armies. These battalions are organised under three Tactical Operations Commands (TOC; Nee byu har ). Each TOC, commanded by
8366-508: Was frowned upon. The Christian missionaries had success in converting some of the minority ethnic groups to Christianity, particularly the Chin, Kachin, Karen and Karenni. Furthermore, missionaries built hospitals and schools which, in the minority ethnic areas, spurred the development of writing systems for their languages, which allowed for the promotion of social progress, education and culture. The British abolished chattel slavery in Burma. This
8460-667: Was however a gradual process. In the report of slavery in Burma and India to the Temporary Slavery Commission in the 1920s, the British India Office stated that the slaves in Assam Bawi in Lushai Hills were now secured the right to buy their freedom; that chattel slavery still existed in parts of Assam with weak British control; that the British negotiated with Hukawng Valley in Upper Burma to end slavery there, where
8554-521: Was known as British Burma , and officially known as Burma ( Burmese : မြန်မာပြည် ) from 1886. Various portions of Burmese territories, including Arakan and Tenasserim , were annexed by the British after their victory in the First Anglo-Burmese War ; Lower Burma was annexed in 1852 after the Second Anglo-Burmese War . The annexed territories were designated the minor province (a chief commissionership) of British Burma in 1862. After
8648-458: Was revealed by the dramatic rise in homicides." With this quickly growing economy came industrialisation to a certain degree, with a railway being built throughout the valley of the Irrawaddy, and hundreds of steamboats travelled along the river. All of these modes of transportation were owned by the British. Thus, although the balance of trade was in favour of British Burma, the society was changed so fundamentally that many people did not gain from
8742-458: Was the first phase of Myanmar Army. In 1942, BIA assisted Japanese Army in their conquest of Burma, which succeeded. After that, Japanese Army changed BIA to Burmese Defense Army (BDA), which was the second phase. In 1943, Japan officially declared Burma an independent nation, but the new Burmese government did not possess de facto rule over the country. While assisting the British Army in 1945,
8836-494: Was upgraded to major general on 23 April 1979. In 1990, it was further upgraded to lieutenant general. Between 1995 and 2002, Chief of Staff (Army) jointly held the position of Chief of BSO. However, in early 2002, two more BSO were added to the General Staff Office; therefore there were altogether four BSOs. The fifth BSO was established in 2005 and the sixth in 2007. Currently there are six Bureaus of Special Operations in
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